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[VAN DELL JORDAN <vdjor AT yahoo.com>]

Yesterday I was on way to a class field trip.  As I
was the second vehicle in the convoy I was able to
see, before they ran away, about half dozen deer who
were browsing in the road ditches.
No matter what my redneck brother says I believe they
are a beautiful sight.  I also think suspect there are
too many in our area for the amount of habitat
available but.......
The class was called "Woodland Steward Short Course" 
Four weeks on Monday nights.  Had to drive 30 mi one
way, I do not like to drive, especially when I am
running late and have to take the main roads.
The purpose is woodland management for the landowner. 
We studied how to establish a plan: do you want timber
sales, wildlife, recreational / aesthetics ???
Then how to manage for each of these purposes.  How to
select trees, how to create habitat, feathering edges,
establishing food plots, what plants provide cover and
food?
On the field trip we saw a property that had followed
these principles for 20+ years, and discussed specific
examples.  Those examples included a "savannah"
created by periodic burning.
In this case the owner earned about as much from
timber sales and from payments to keep this in
wildlife habitat as he would have from a cash lease
for crops that would have slowly lowered the value of
the land.
The main feeling I got from all this is
..overwhelmed..
though the leaders went to a great effort to convince
us to just take on task at a time and pointed out that
this is a job that would never be completed.
Van Dell